Three-dimensional (3D) movies and videos are becoming increasing prevalent in the marketplace. When a stereoscopic 3D movie or video is created, two different views of a scene are either captured by physical stereoscopic cameras or artificially generated by means of computer graphics. Typically, the distance (baseline) between the cameras is kept fixed during production according to the 3D visual effects desired by the filmmaker. At the time of viewing the 3D movie or video (e.g., on a 3D television by wearing active or passive 3D glasses), a viewer will experience a “default” depth perception effect as planned by the film or video maker.
Stereoscopic 3D content can be processed in order to perform artificial adjustments to the cameras baseline (manipulation of the stereo visual cue) by means of synthesis of novel left and right views. This enables the 3D movie of video viewer to adjust (increase or decrease) the perceived depth to a point that makes the viewer feel more comfortable when viewing the 3D content. However, sometimes the perceived changes in depth are small. This problem often occurs because a single visual cue (stereo) is being manipulated. For example, the perceived depth in a scene may be increased by increasing the baseline. However, the spatial dimensions of the objects in the image remain fixed. Thus, although one can observe the depth range being expanded, one does not feel that close objects become closer. Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved apparatuses and methods for adjusting the perceived depth of 3D video content.